The Concealing Mist
by DarkShine07
Summary: There was just something about him that drew her towards him, like a moth unable to resist flying into a light only to be shocked to death. [BalthierxAshe]


It was cold. The pitter patter of falling rain moved at a steady beat as gray clouds of the darkest shade effortly skimmed across the dreary sky. A thickening mist swirled about, clinging to tree trunks and small rocks. The hardened ground soaked in all the moisture as quickly as it fell, though fertile areas became muddied and full. Nothing stirred. All creatures had sought out shelter from the bleakness and were nowhere to be found. Above all else it was uncomfortably quiet other than falling rain drops. He smiled. This was exactly the way he liked a surrounding to be, peaceful. Of course most would describe this setting as boring and dull, but he found it quite serene. His eyes closed slowly and he breathed in, enjoying every minute of the dampness and quietness about him. Nevertheless he was on a mission. He trucked forward, his boots leaving small holes in the ground behind him as he moved. In a matter of mere minutes the mist had concealed him as if he were never there at all.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//

She slumped down in slur, quite upset with herself. Her back was propped up by a tree trunk, right behind her. Her soft eyes blinked in frustration, regret written all over her pupils. The soft silk of her clothing stuck to her skin as the rain continued to pour down upon her flesh. Her hair absorbed more and more and it lay flat, sticking to her cheeks. She sighed and brushed away a strand of damp hair with her hand. She should've known better than to have left without the rest of her acquaintances. Rash decisions were always regretted, and now she really understood the meaning of this. She had thought she could find the tomb all by herself and get the job done quicker that way. By doing so she could even keep her friends out of harm's way. But what a sorry mistake that was. Now she was utterly lost out in the wilderness with only her knowledge of magick and her sword to defend herself with. She knew that when her friends awoke at dawn they'd search for her, but to no avail, and they'd assume the worst and continue onward without her, as they would think she would wish them to do so were she there. She'd be left alone out in the mist for ever until she died of cold or the creatures for one consumed her.

Her eyes slowly shut as her weariness took over her senses and she drifted to sleep. Her mind recreated pictures of all of her acquaintances as she slept. There was the one of unknown age and very strong senses, the boy of youth who seemed to think the sky was the answer to all his dreams, his friend, the girl he'd grown up with, of course there was the traitor, but was he really a traitor or had he been telling the truth? Last of all there was the sky pirate…the dashing sky pirate whom was still but a mystery to her. She'd never gotten to know most of them very well, but she trusted them, even the one she was sure who had killed her father. But the pirate? She knew far less about him than any of the others and she wished she had gotten a better chance to talk with him before now. There was just something about him that drew her towards him, like a moth unable to resist flying into a light only to be shocked to death. Perhaps it was better that she knew what she did and no more about him…perhaps he could get her into something that would be her death, as the moth and the light. Or maybe the moth just rushed into things too quickly and its life was ruined…no matter the reason, a pirate would always be….a pirate.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//

He knelt over, carefully gliding his hand across the moist blades of grass. The all seemed quite the norm, but one, he gently uprooted and held up to his eyes. A few centimeters away from the tip of the blade the stem was bent, bent in a way that only a heavy force could do. Of course almost anything could bend a blade of grass, but this was a clean cut, not made from an animal's teeth. Something had stepped on it. Rather someone instead of something. There was another grin on his behalf and he looked at the direction the tip was bent, to the right, and headed that way, letting the piece of grass gently swirl back down to the ground.

For the first time in a long time, he found his thoughts to be wandering. Usually he was always completely focused on the task at hand, no matter what the deed might be, and he could get it done before simply moving on to the next task. So when he found himself thinking of certain things other than what his next move should be, he felt quite confused. There was an eerie premonition set in his eyes, that should something happen to…he would never forgive himself.

The rain was lightening up, the clouds becoming a lighter shade of gray and the sun poking out rays through the mist. The swirls of the mist had begun to vaporize and disappear, letting more of the environment be seen. He even thought he could hear the faint sound of chirp, which meant a few creatures, might be about by now. His eyes looked down as he walked onward, always searching for a footprint or something of the like. He nearly passed by it when his eye caught a quick flash of light from the ground but he stopped suddenly and turned around. There was a shine coming from the ground a few feet away from him. He stepped closer and bent over. A piece of silver tied onto a red piece of cloth along with a blue piece of ribbon dangling beside the silver. His hand gently dipped underneath the relic and cupped it in his palm to lift up in the air. He was sure it belonged to her, though he'd never seen her wear it once, it just looked like something she would have, or hide. His eyes flashed up to looked around. In front of him there was a thick layer of mist not yet dissolved and a tall, looming tree trunk rising up high into the air above. The mist concealed the entire base of the trunk and what surrounded it, but he was content to walk forward and look.

Sure enough a snoozing figure appeared from within the mist. He smiled, feeling an oncoming success approaching and tucked the relic into his pocket before sitting down and waiting.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//

It was such a nice dream to be interrupted so abruptly, but her eyes remained closed as she waited for the intruder to settle. As slowly as she could she let her right hand slide across her stomach to quietly grip her sword's hilt. As soon as she had a firm grip and sprung up to her feet, and her sword was free of its sheath in less than a second, and as quickly as she could she swung her sword through the air straight at the intruder's head. She was completely stunned when another sword just as quickly parried her blow. Unready for the parry's force she stumbled backwards against the tree trunk. Her sword fell from her aching right hand and her left hand was instantly placed upon her forehead as it throbbed in pain. She heard a familiar chuckle.

"Trying to kill your rescuer?"

She blinked and looked at the intruder for the first time to find that he was not an intruder at all.

"Balthier?"

"That is what most call me." He stood up and walked over to her, gently removing her hand from her forehead so he could feel it. "Now how could a blow to your hand cause your head to hurt?" He asked aloud.

"I thought you didn't have a sword…"

"I don't, it's a _short_sword, and I only use it for short distance attacks or self defense, like when princesses attack me when they look like they're sleeping."

She smirked slightly. "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be with the others?"

"No more than should you. Besides…I could ask you the same question, and I think I shall. What are _you _doing here?" Balthier retorted, taking his hand off of her throbbing forehead and stepping away to sit down again.

She watched silently before also sitting to answer, "Well…I assumed I could retrieve the Dawnshard alone, to keep all of you out of trouble and the likes."

"Princess Ashe, I think it matters not how much _more _trouble assisting you would get us into…we've already committed so much that no matter how much more, the Empire would surely have us executed, or most likely worse."

"Worse?"

His eyes showed a sense of humor. "Men are always coming up with new ways to torture or kill a soul. I'm sure they would think of _something _worse than execution."

Ashe looked down, feeling a bit awkward. She wondered how Balthier could've found her…perhaps he had been trying to get the Dawnshard as well, only for himself, so he could sell it for gil. Who knew how much he could be offered for that ancient stone?

"I found something that I think you might like."

Ashe was sure he was about to offer her the Dawnshard then and there. She would be utterly embarrassed if a sky pirate found Raithwall's tomb and she couldn't.

Balthier slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a very familiar item. Ashe's eyes lit up when she looked at it, and her jaw slowly dropped.

"Ah, you do like it?" Balthier asked quizzically.

"I own it."

He tossed it through the air and she quickly held up a hand and caught it. She smiled as she looked down at it.

"Do elaborate what you mean when you say, 'you own it'."

"It was my father's. He passed it on to me before he was killed. I thought I'd lost it…When I reached down earlier to see if it was there, it wasn't." She looked up to meet Blathier's gaze. "Thank you."

He was silent for a moment but then spoke, "Eh, just be glad I didn't decide to sell it at the bazaar."

Ashe still smiled; she knew that was just his way of saying your welcome.

"Well, I suppose I should be getting you back to the others…they'll be waking up soon. What would they think to find _both _of us gone? Probably not that you left and I went in search of you; no I suspect it would be a much different accusation." He chuckled to himself.

Ashe smiled to herself and tucked the relic away for safekeeping, like she'd always done before. "Well okay, you can take me back."

Balthier nodded and stood up and held out his hand to Ashe, which she accepted and stood up herself. She looked down and dusted off her clothing before looking back up and realizing how close she was to Balthier. He stood still, his eyes so blinking as they gazed at eachother. Ashe could not make her eyes look away, there was something in Balthier's own eyes keeping her transfixed. A few seconds later Ashe was about to speak to try and change the subject of starring at eachother, but Balthier, in a reflective reaction reached his hand up and placed two fingers across her lips, silencing her. Ashe closed her lips and waited wondrously. Balthier let his fingers lower and then the two of them both leaned in at the same time, their lips slowly meeting one another. Ashe suddenly understood why the moth couldn't resist flying towards a light- it wanted to.

When Balthier finally pulled away and Ashe opened her eyes he was smiling. "Thank you." Balthier nodded and then they both started walking until the mist concealed their figures and they were gone.

**A/N: That was a fun write. This is my first FFXII fanfic, so I hope it wasn't bad…I've had this idea in my head for a quite a while now, so here you have it. **


End file.
